A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation
by TomOrli BloomingWell
Summary: Love can lead you down two different roads, that of happiness or heartbreak." Teddy Lupin wonders why he ever even bothered falling in love with Victoire Weasley in the first place.


**A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation**

Love can lead you down two different roads; that of happiness or heartbreak. Sometimes, it might seem as if the two come together in the same package as in the case of the following excerpt from the very troubling life of Teddy Lupin.

Our protagonist Teddy Lupin was slumped over on one of the very comfortable sofas in the unusually quiet Gryffindor common room, a box of chocolates sitting precariously on his lap and a mug of Firewhiskey held loosely in his hand. By the description mentioned before, one could say that he was in a clearly miserable state. Why, you ask? Why simply because the love of his life had been off gallivanting in Hogsmeade with Robert Yeats, the captain of the Ravenclaw quidditch team. Fittingly enough that day was Valentine's Day and so it definitely was the ideal time of year to show the world how unwanted you were.

A giggling was heard from outside the portrait hole, followed by voices. "Thank you for today, I really enjoyed it…"

"The pleasure was all mine," a deeper voice responded. There was a pause. Teddy wondered what was going on then the conversation continued, "Goodnight, Victoire…"

"Goodnight, Robert…" The password was given and the portrait swung open. Teddy stood up abruptly causing the box of chocolates to fall, the assorted sweets scattering over the floor. Enter our female lead: the beautiful Victoire Weasley, her head was buried in a large bouquet of red roses with a large smile spread across her face. "Teddy," she said with surprise when she noticed him, "Whatever are you doing here so late in the night?"

"I-I was waiting for you," Teddy stammered. "Erm, so how was your day?"

Victoire smiled and hid under the flowers, still drunk from the beautiful scent, "Teddy, you wouldn't believe how beautiful it was!" Victoire took a few quick steps and spun around, her arms spread out into the air like a little girl who had just received her dream dollhouse for Christmas. She carefully placed the bouquet on a nearby end-table and walked nearer towards her dear friend. "First, Robert brought me to the Three Broomsticks, not Madam Puddifoot's like any other silly boy would do and then…"

Teddy smiled, forgetting about the fact that she cherished another. He loved it when she was happy, her eyes would light up and she would just have a glow about her, it was like she could make everyone happy even though he was extremely miserable. "He even brought me to Honeyduke's and bought me those little enchanted gummy bears, I prefer those to the cliché boxes of chocolate –"

"_I_ got you a box of chocolates…" Teddy interrupted.

Victoire furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "Whatever for, Teddy?"

Teddy took a deep breath, he wanted to take the risk. If he wasn't going to do it now, when? Next year while he was off working while she stayed behind at Hogwarts for her sixth year? He couldn't even bear to think that she, his one love, could stay behind at school with Yeats, dating him. "I love you…"

Victoire let out a giggle, "Don't be silly!" Victoire pushed him softly on the shoulder. Teddy didn't know what to think. Was she flirting with him? Although he was considered the school's resident geek, he wasn't blind to cupid's arrows around that time of year. Just that morning, he had seen fourth year Pamela Watson from Slytherin with her hands all over Gary Holding giggling her little head off.

"I'm not kidding Victoire. I really do have feelings for you," Teddy said. Victoire noticed his tone, not the least bit lighthearted. He really was serious.

Victoire cleared her voice nervously and chewed her bottom lip, "Teddy, I really don't know what to say. I just don't have feelings like that for you… I'm sorry." Victoire turned away, heading over to the Girls' Dormitory stairs. Teddy took a step forward and grabbed her hand.

"Victoire, please don't do this to me…" Although that was probably one of the most uncomfortable times of her life, she didn't take her hand back. She just left it there in his larger one. She brought her grey-blue eyes up to Teddy's dark brown ones and studied his him, there was a sense of longing and desperation in those vast pools of mystery and intrigue.

Overcome with desire and the heat of the moment, Teddy leaned in closer, and gave her a short but sweet kiss. Their lips hung in limbo, Victoire was confused about what was going on. She felt drawn to him, she really did but she was Robert's Valentine. Teddy waited for her to respond, he wasn't going to kiss her again without her permission. Thing was that if she really didn't want this to happen, she would have backed out ages ago. And there was that one nagging feeling, _She was Robert's_…

Victoire brought her hand up to his face and touched it softly, then their lips touched. A whirlwind of emotions being exchanged.

_A ten-year-old Teddy Lupin and an eight-year-old Victoire were sitting on a swing, "How come Carroll's already gotten a kiss?" Victoire said, pouting._

"_Maybe 'coz she's much older than you are… She is fifteen," Teddy said reasonably._

_Victoire shrugged her tiny shoulders, "It's not that big of a difference." Teddy smiled and looked over at his companion. "I want a kiss, will you kiss me Teddy?"_

"_Yuk! That's disgusting Victoire…" Teddy said scrunching his face into a grimace._

"_Well, when you're older you'll be begging to kiss a girl. That's what Carroll says," Victoire said in a very matter-of-factly tone, her nose stuck up in the air. Teddy made yet another look of disgust and pretended to vomit. "You'll see, you'll be begging to kiss me, just you wait!"_

_Teddy rolled his eyes, "That's just about as likely as me giving you my bubblegum ring." Victoire let out an indignant hmph before walking back to the cottage._

Victoire broke away, "I can't do this," she said breathily. "I'm sorry…" she said, the familiar feeling of a lump forming in her throat. She ran up the stairs, trying to hold back the tears of confusion, leaving Teddy behind alone in the common room.

He touched his cheek and lips, and ran his hand through his hair. A sense of emptiness overwhelmed him, he was empty again. He regained his place at the couch and grabbed the bottle of Firewhiskey, drinking from it directly. All was lost, he couldn't care anymore. She had made her decision.

Teddy reached in his pocket and withdrew the ring, the ring he had gotten at the gumball machine when he was a child. He remembered how much he had hated it, how he had wasted fifty pence on a worthless piece of plastic instead of the gum he wanted. Then she told him how much she liked it, and ever since then, he had yet to throw it away. It was clutched in his hand until the bright rays of the sunrise woke him from his alcohol-induced slumber. He slowly got up to go back to his bed in the Boys' Dormitory.

He took another glance at the flowers on the table and tied the ring to them, leaving a note:

_A bubblegum ring, as promised by a small boy to a little girl who longed to be kissed._

Teddy sighed heavily and groggily made his way up the stairs.

**A/N: This was part of a collaboration fic held by the Reviews Lounge titled a Box of Chocolates. Be sure to drop on by and take a look at the beautifully executed stories that had participated.**

**Join the review revolution and make this author's day just a little bit better.**

**- xXTomOrliXx**


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